So, as everyone undoubtedly knows, my son and I recently returned from 2 weeks in NY. We had a brilliant time on very little money, we ate a lot, saw a lot of incredibly good music, some great comedy and just generally hung out, mostly in places below Union Square. As before, favourite places were the East and West Villages – in fact that whole strip from river to river, and this time I added Brooklyn to the list. We stayed in Brooklyn and really loved it – I didn’t even bother going there before and this time we didn’t have enough time to see all the that we wanted.
I’ll pop up a few posts, illustrated with my rather dingy iphone photos – or with my son’s sometimes very good pics from his little instant camera.
The posts will expand on some of the observations below, and more, and may take some time to get up between work and other commitments.
Suffice to say – I can’t believe I waited 20 years to get back to NY and have vowed to return there for a much longer stay when son leaves school.
NY has changed enormously and sometimes beyond recognition – Brooklyn is now hip and Alphabet City is gentrified, the poor and the projects have been pushed way way out into the outer boroughs or into a few remaining pockets in Manhattan. We saw few homeless people (although we did accompany our hosts to volunteer making food for the homeless, so they must exist), few junkies and no crimes happening, although the morning news was full of shootings and bashings, mainly in Jersey and Queens. I suspect these changes are more a triumph of moving problems rather than solving problems, but strolling the galleries and restaurants of the Meatpacking District, Alphapet City and the Bowery was a world apart from the no-go areas of 20 years earlier.
There are police EVERYWHERE, and it has to be said that New York’s finest appeared to be a pretty motley bunch. Generally portly and slow looking they did a lot of cruising around in cars and congregating in groups on corners and train platforms. We had a few conversations about this with fellow subway passengers and locals and more than once a comment was made along the lines of ‘that’s why so many people get shot here, the police are too fat to chase people so they just shoot them’.
Some observations:
New Yorkers are the friendliest people in the world – despite wanting you to believe they are rude and obnoxious
New Yorkers eat constantly, and talk constantly – usually both at the same time, making them ideal companions for my son and I. Wherever you go, on the subways, pavements, diners, restaurants, gigs – even the bar at the Ritz, New Yorkers are curious, friendly and up for a chat, sometimes to the point of holding you hostage. They love to talk about their city, give directions and advice, talk politics, food, sport or just generally shoot the breeze.
New York is cheap compared to Sydney, if you don’t have to pay for accommodation that is!
I love the fact that NY is a series of villages, each with its own flavour and character.
NY is a walking city and pavements are hard, your legs will hurt and the soles of your feet will feel bruised
Look up!!!! There are some amazing sights and beautiful vignettes to be seen, not to mention that its nice to see the sky sometimes.
When you are in NY, you will have many strange moments where you feel like you are in a movie or TV show, either New Yorkers have adapted to fit their stereotypes, or movies and TV shows set in NY are just very accurate and made with a love of the city and its people (the latter I tend to think)
Having actual seasons is a lovely change from Sydney, within 2 days of our arrival there were blossoms everywhere and windowboxes and pots full of tulips had miraculously appeared on the Brooklyn brownstone windowsills and stoops. Central Park was glorious and the weather was crisp and clear (except for one record breaking hot day during which I cursed myself for not packing my Birkies!).
More to come…